We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 8 July 2016 to ask the practice the following key questions: Are services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Our findings were:

Are services safe?

We found that this practice was providing safe care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services effective?

We found that this practice was providing effective care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services caring?

We found that this practice was providing caring services in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services responsive?

We found that this practice was providing responsive care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Are services well-led?

We found that this practice was providing well-led care in accordance with the relevant regulations.

Background

‏Addison Place Dental Practice is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and provides private dental services.

The staff structure of the practice comprises of five dentists, three nurses, two hygienists, a receptionist and a practice manger.

The practice was open 8:00 am-5:30 pm Monday to Friday. Facilities within the practice include four treatment rooms, a dedicated decontamination room and a waiting area.

One of the dentists was the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the practice is run.

Before the inspection we sent Care Quality Commission (CQC) comment cards to the practice for patients to complete to tell us about their experience of the practice. We received 27 comment cards from patients and spoke with three patients on the day of the inspection. The feedback we received for patients gave a positive view of the services the practice provides. The patients commented that the quality of care was good.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection on 8 July 2016 as part of our planned inspection of all dental practices. The inspection took place over one day and was carried out by an inspector and a dental specialist advisor.

Our key findings were:

• There were effective processes in place to reduce and minimise the risk and spread of infection.
• Patients’ needs were assessed and care was planned in line with best practice guidance such as from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).Patients were involved in their care and treatment planning.
• There was appropriate equipment for staff to undertake their duties and equipment was well maintained.
• Patients told us that staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect.
• Patients indicated that they felt they were listened to and that they received good care from a helpful and caring practice team.
• There were processes in place for patients to give their comments and feedback about the service including making complaints and compliments.
• Governance arrangements were in place and there was a clear vision for the smooth running of the practice.

There were areas where the provider could make improvements and should:

• Review the protocols for obtaining and maintaining accurate, complete and detailed records relating to staff employed for the purpose of carrying on the regulated activities, giving due regard to current legislation and guidance.

• Review availability of equipment to manage medical emergencies taking into account guidelines issued by the Resuscitation Council (UK), and the General Dental Council (GDC) standards for the dental team.

• Review the practice’s protocols for recording in the patients’ dental care records or elsewhere the reason for taking the X-ray and quality of the X-ray giving due regard to the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R) 2000.

• Review the systems for checking and monitoring equipment to ensure that all equipment is well maintained.

It was not possible to talk to people who use the service during the inspection. However, we were able to look at completed patient questionnaires. These indicated that overall people were very satisfied with the quality of the service provided. All of the questionnaires reviewed said that the patient would recommend the service to family or friends.